The Thought Of It
by YFWE
Summary: The thought of it amused Rose, really. Perhaps it even confused her. She had never considered herself to be a person that might act, say, on impulse, and yet here she was, mere moments after the thought had first penetrated her mind. SpudXRose


Have you ever just looked in the mirror one day while at work and had an extreme epiphany and story idea and decidedly could n

Have you ever just looked in the mirror one day while at work and had an extreme epiphany and story idea and decidedly could not rest until you finished the story?

Probably not.

I, however, have. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what comes of it—a story with one of the biggest crack pairings in the history of ADJL fanfiction. I am not saying that I am the first to do this (I probably am not), but it cannot be disputed that the pairing, at least, has a pretty high novelty value.

This will be a one-shot. So please don't ask for another chapter—of course, I am not implying that you _would _ask for another… rather, if you should wish for another, just know that the day it comes will be the day that I shit a chicken.

A few final words: this fanfic takes place after the series finale. It features merely two characters—and they, you shall see, are the components of said 'crack pairing.'

I do hope you enjoy. Anna, feel free to flame this if you wish, as it will only raise my review count!

The Thought of It

YFWE

The thought of it amused Rose, really. Perhaps it even confused her. She had never considered herself to be a person that might act, say, _on impulse_, and yet here she was, mere moments after the thought had first penetrated her mind.

Night had fallen; New York's streets were uncharacteristically scarce of people, likely attributed to the rather frigid weather that had befallen the city in recent days. Bundled up in her heaviest winter coat, Rose stalked the idle avenues, walking briskly in an attempt to remove herself from the cold as soon as possible, the chilling wind assailing her exposed countenance like a dagger.

She wasn't absolutely sure where she was going. She knew the area, however, in which the place was supposedly located, though—and in addition, she thought that she could pick it out going off of what she had heard Jake, Spud, and Trixie mention previously. It would be a rather small building, especially compared to the much larger structures surrounding it, and it would look, to a certain extent, "worn-down"… the place, after all, hadn't exactly been in the greatest condition when they had begun to rent it out.

And with the thought of this, _he _crossed her mind again. It was quite burdensome: no matter how much she tried to go about her life, now rendered mundanely normal after her effectual "release" from the Huntsclan, her thoughts always came back to _that boy_!

In truth, the problem was that she loved him. Or, at least, she loved him by her definition of the word. But this was the cause of her pain, her confusion, her wretchedness: love, in any and all ways. Did Jake really love her back? Or was she merely some _status-symbol_, a prize that solidified his stature as "tight" amongst the others at school?

"He hasn't been there for me," she whispered into her coat as she rounded a street corner, onto the avenue on which her destination purportedly stood.

And she was right; he hadn't. Not since she had convinced her parents to allow them to move back to New York. By helping him defeat the Dark Dragon, she had thought that maybe, just maybe, normalcy would finally reign in their relationship, that they could at long last be together sans the pressures and conflict of the magical world.

But therein laid the flaw in the plan: just months prior, her father had fallen sick and had lapsed into a coma. He was not dead, of course, but the chances of him ever regaining consciousness seemed to lessen with each passing day. So what could one _do_? Rose needed that father figure, that male presence, in her life. And without her father, she could only rely on Jake more heavily.

Jake was always gone, though. _Always_. Perhaps even more so than before he had to worry about the Dark Dragon and the Huntsclan. He would be absent from school for days at a time, and on days he could actually attend, he was off for his grandfather's shop immediately thereafter. And the thing was that he acted as if _nothing was wrong. _Nothing! His actions barely changed even after her father's dilemma. She was as invisible to him as any of his friends, whom he had near-deserted as well, were!

"He hasn't been there for me," she repeated, and glanced up the sidewalk. There, she found, a few houses up, was the place. Their sanctuary.

Trixie had actually thought of it first. "Why not," she had said with a grin, "get some sorta clubhouse… y'know, a place close to the skatepark, where we can rest our tired bones when we want, if we want!" And then, Spud had found the place… a stone's throw from the park, hadn't had a resident in over twenty years, so the rent was down. The three of them—Jake, Spud, and Trixie—pooled together enough money to begin to rent the building, and essentially moved in immediately. In fact, Rose was not sure that Spud ever slept at home anymore. Which was why she knew she'd find him there.

She rapped on the wooden front door three times, the cold beginning to travel to her chest, staggering her breathing slightly. "Wha…?" came a surprised voice from inside. "Wh-who's there?"

"It's me, Spud," Rose called back quickly.

"Tha' you, Rose?!" the door swung open violently, nearly crashing off of its hinges. "It _is _you! Uhm… what's going on? How didja… find the place?"

Rose ignored these questions at first, launching herself inside to escape the cold. "Oh… s-sorry!" stuttered Spud as he ushered her inside, taking care to close the door a bit more carefully before following her in. "Please, sit down… d'you want anything to drink? Cocoa?"

"That would be wonderful, Spud, thanks," Rose said with a slight-but-honest grin. She stared around at her surroundings as Spud hired off, noticing a few chairs and an archaic-looking couch spread about the room, all crowded around a TV that was plugged up against the wall. There was a dank, musty smell inside the place, yet somehow, it still felt like home—or, at least, it felt rather inviting. There were three cots lined along the back wall, which, unlike the other wooden walls, was painted white, as if someone had begun to undergo some sort of renovation project but hadn't finished. There was a small kitchen and bathroom add-on to the side, where Spud was huddled over the sink, filling a mug with water.

"I hope you don't mind tap water… it's not the best around here, but I checked, and it's sanitary," Spud announced as he moved to put the mug on a burner. He reached into a cabinet and pulled out some cocoa mix. "So… what brings you here?"

"Just needed some company," said Rose shortly as she took a seat on the couch, which to her surprise felt rather comfortable. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Mind? Not at all!" Spud snatched the mug from the burner and walked back towards Rose. "You're a friend, and a friend's always welcome here! Careful, it's hot," he added as he handed her the mug of cocoa.

Rose nodded in appreciation, setting down her mug and sliding off her coat. They sat there in silence for a few moments, as if one did not have any idea of what to say to the other, before Rose spoke curiously: "So…it's pretty warm in here; where's the heat coming from?"

"Oh, it's pretty cool, actually!—the fireplace is a bit dangerous and the heater's broken, so Fu came in and we found a hex that can keep it warm constantly. It's far warmer here than at home… that's why I usually stay the night. Mom doesn't mind, anyway…"

Spud trailed off, and once again it was silent. "So…" spoke Spud again, "how're you and Jake doin'?"

Rose took a sip of her drink. "We're… not so good."

"Not so good?" asked a surprised Spud. "What's happened?"

"Well, you've seen it at school… we're just, I dunno, drifting apart, you know?"

"I had noticed," muttered Spud, taking a seat in a chair across from her. "He's the same way with Trix and I…"

"It's this damned dragon stuff. I thought that he'd be done with it after we defeated the Dark Dragon… but hell, it's gotten worse."

"Why don't you go help him?" asked Spud. "I mean, on his missions. You can still kick some serious ass; I've seen you do it. At least you guys would be together, then…"

"But Spud, I want a normal life, not what Jake has!" sighed Rose. "All I've truly wanted is for Jake and I to be happy together, to lead a normal high school relationship… y'know, like Trixie and Kyle Wilkins. Sorry about that, by the way…"

"Yeah," said Spud, his eyes downcast. "It's fine; she was never really into me anyway, y'know. We're better off friends."

"I just," continued Rose, "wish that he could've been there for me a bit more… I mean, after my dad went into his coma…"

"Coma?!" Spud jumped up from his chair and leapt onto the couch beside her. "You never told me…"

"I didn't tell anyone besides Jake… I figured I could keep it to myself… and I figured that Jake could be there, be that presence, you know?"

"And he hasn't," Spud said wistfully. "I'm so sorry, Rose, it sounds terrible… I mean, to not have that male figure and all…"

He looked over at her and was surprised to find himself staring back into her eyes. He had never truly noticed her eyes, her big, brilliant, crystalline blue eyes…

Rose's gaze quickly averted away. "It's okay, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known, obviously. I guess," she continued on. "that I'll just have to live with it."

Her gaze was back on him, a gaze that now dripped with amusement and curiosity. "Yeah…" Spud said, meeting her gaze with an equally curious gaze of his own. "I guess."

"But then… there might always be alternatives…"

"Believe me, I've thought that too…"

And before either of them knew it, they were kissing fiercely, Rose's hands exploring at his chest, his hands around her back. Spud lost his balance sitting vertically, and fell back against the coach. Rose didn't miss a beat, throwing herself on top of him, as his hands began to snake up her shirt…

Spud pulled away, as suddenly as it had started. "I-I…" he jumped up and walked a few paces away, facing away from her, "I'm… sorry…"

"M-me too," said Rose in disclosure, straightening her shirt as she sat up. "I… don't know what came over me."

"Me neither… Jake's my best friend… I couldn't do this to him…"

Rose stood and walked a few steps towards him. "Did you like it?" she asked intriguingly.

"What?"

"Did you like it?" repeated Rose.

Spud turned to face her. "Oh God, of course I did. Rose, you're one of the hottest girls at our school—"

"Hotter than Stacey?" Rose interjected, with a smile.

"Precisely! But you're Jake's girl! I can't screw my best friend like this…"

"Jake's out of the picture. He's been out for quite some time now…"

"NO, he is NOT! Rose, you two are meant for each other. I just know it."

Rose sighed. "If we were meant for each other, I would've actually talked to him in the past month. Spud, do you know how it is to be ignored by someone you care about?!"

"I DO! I haven't spoken to Jake since God-knows-when, in case you hadn't noticed. And Trix… well, with Kyle in the picture…"

Spud looked again to see Rose gazing at him once more. She began to take a few steps towards him once more; Spud began to stutter in protest, but Rose merely put a finger to her lips. "Spud, I'm not asking for a relationship right now… I just need _someone_. And I feel like, right now, we need each other."

"But Jake—"

"Screw him. Jake doesn't need to know."

"I…"

Before he could protest, Rose's arms were around him once more, and Spud felt something inside him give up as another thing seemed to awake. And suddenly they were at each other again, mouths and tongues lashing intensely, Spud's hands once again finding the spot they had been at when they had left off…

The wooden door flew open. Spud and Rose broke apart, and for a split second, Spud thought—_hoped, _rather—that it had been merely the wind. But then a figure appeared in the doorway, a figure with spiky hair and a long coat—

Standing in the doorway, now-falling snow blowing inside the door amongst him, was none other than Jake Long, a stunned look spread across his face.

END

Once again, I will NOT be continuing it, so don't ask. :D Reviews are always wonderful.

Yours in fiction,

YFWE


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